Chapter 36
The reign of One of Many, née Annika Hansen; Queen of Borg.
Year 00, Month 11, Day 28, Hour 11, Minute 31.
Anidan was pacing, as was normal when she was giving a presentation. At that moment the pacing was done in conference room one. With Seven, B'Elanna, Pagsha, and Plojkian joining in the discussion, and Katzi sitting and just listening since this was a technical discussion that was going way over her head.
"So the real question is what advancements have species 8472 made since the last encounter," Anidan concluded before sitting back down.
"Do you think that they have something in reserve that they haven't used yet?" Pagsha wondered.
"Well," Anidan said thoughtfully. "Obviously your guess is as good as mine. All I know is that we shouldn't underestimate them. They only encountered one cube until now. They might have some weapon that takes longer to charge than cube X4 stuck around uncloaked and therefore we never saw them use it. After all, they have proven highly intelligent and able to adapt quickly. Plus, they are willing to study a problem to find a way to counteract it. As much as I once hated the Borg for what they did to me, at least the Borg had the misguided belief that they were bettering the life of the people they assimilated. Species 8472 seems to think that all that is not them is only worthy of killing. Beings that are so bent on killing can come up with some damn impressive weapons."
Plojkian Nodded in agreement. "I still stand by what I said. I am certain that the shields will hold against the known weapon's fire of species 8472, with the exception of the planetbusters. Those can destroy planets, but there's nothing that says that they can't also use them to target ships. The shields won't be able to hold against that. But for the rest, the only surprise would be if they have some new weapon that they didn't use in the test that cube X4 did."
"The planetbuster ships won't be a problem," B'Elanna assured. "The captains of the Individual cubes will get a standing order to shoot as soon as the bioships maneuver into position to form the planetbuster formation. No extra order from our side will be needed. And even if they manage to form a planetbuster formation, we are still relatively safe because we can maneuver out of reach quite easily because they need to break formation and then form up again if they want to retarget something."
"Plojkian," Seven spoke up, "is there a way to boost the shields even more?"
"Um, with all due respect my Queen, but if it was possible to make them stronger I would already have done so. It's illogical to settle for mediocre protection if you can also deliver excellent protection."
"You are correct, of course," Seven agreed. "I apologize for not being clear enough. What I mean is, the shields exist out of the normal, though vastly enhanced by you, Borg armor that is now known as the inner layer, and out of the shielding B'Elanna and I came up with on Voyager, known as the outer layer. What I meant was, is it possible to boost the inner layer so that in case the outer layer fails the ships at least still have the protection of the inner layer?"
"Um, my Queen, the outer layer is supposed to fail," Plojkian said slowly. "That is the whole point. The beam or projectile hits the outer layer where the impact interacts with the shield, causing the power of the blast to be used because of the laws of physics; a reaction equals an action until the point where the action overcomes the reaction. Normally the rest of the blast would then hit the inner layer and act there on that shield. But I designed the outer layer to fail only moments before destruction so that the energy of the blast is absorbed. Because of that the inner layer has to suffer the brunt of full impact for a moment, but then the outer layer that failed but wasn't destroyed, is activated again and the whole cycle starts anew. This failing and activating of the outer layer can happen up to 800 times per second, resulting in, um, well, basically the power of the attack being cut into tiny pieces that the inner layer can easily deal with. I have designed the inner layer so that it on turn gets an energy boost at the moment the outer layer fails which gives the extra protection, and then to actually drain energy to only 5% of maximum power so that the emitter can cool off while the outer layer absorbs the impact."
"Um, did anyone actually get that?" Pagsha asked. She was relived when she saw that apparently even Anidan didn't seem to get it all.
"I'm not going to pretend that I understood all of that; not my field of expertise," Anidan said. "But I can tell you what I 'did' understand. Something and another thing is switched on and off and is overtaxed and under-taxed up to 800 times a minute. I can also tell you that if I had created something so sensitive like that, and you were going to suggest to me that I should try and fiddle with the settings at the moment that you need it, I would ask you if you were out of your freaking mind."
"I see," Seven said slowly.
"My Queen," Plojkian said after glancing at Anidan. "Anidan spoke rather colorfully, but she did get to the heart of it. The shields are calibrated and set, a program has been written. We need to leave it like that. Otherwise you might as well go in with no shields at all. It's one of the reasons why the shields only work on two settings; on and off. Now, granted, I just realized that maybe a second protocol should be added that allows the shields to also be used like the old Borg shields, which will allow you to run them at a lower setting than 100%, and I promise you that I will work on that. And I will even write a third protocol that, if activated, switches the shields back automatically to the old Borg style if my design should fail. It would give you that backup you speak about. I admit, it was a small oversight of me to not think of that before. I was too concentrated on creating the best shield possible. But all of that is of no relevance now. Now you need the best shield option, and I assure you that my new shield 'is' the best option."
Seven nodded reluctantly. "Forgive me if I sound like I have no trust in you or your abilities; I do. It is merely that I am thinking of the drones that have to be close to the hull. The senior staff are all deep inside Unimatrix 01. Even without shields at all we cannot be reached here by a beam of species 8472. But it is so easily forgotten that even if the ship only takes five percent of damage, that damage starts with the hull and then goes deeper. Five percent is so easily ignored, until your realize that with a ship the size of Unimatrix 01, that still means thousands of lives lost."
"We had that once on Voyager," B'Elanna spoke up, knowing only too well what Seven was thinking of because they had been talking about it the night before in bed.
"We were under attack once; nothing new there. We were hit and it was reported as a hull breach on deck five. Then communications went down, and then the engines were hit. We were then able to destroy our attackers before more damage could be done. Since the engines were hit the Captain rightfully ordered them fixed first, in case some more enemies came checking where their friends were. The enemies never came. But because the engines had gotten priority it was two hours later before anyone was sent to repair the hull breach. It was only then found out that the explosion had destroyed the sensors there and two crew members had been trapped in that section. An emergency force field had prevented them from being blown into space. But because communications were down they weren't able to call for help in time. They froze to death before communications were back up. We lost two people that day because of something that was considered unimportant minor damage."
"But that risk always exists," Anidan pointed out. "If I have learned one thing in all my experiments and creating than it is to never say 'that can never happen.' Even the impossible is possible if the right circumstances exist. If you truly want to deal with something like that potentially happening, then I would suggest concentrating less on preventing things from happening and more on what to do if it happens."
"I must agree," Plojkian said. "I once had a discussion like that with a former employer. He demanded that no matter what, it would be impossible that certain things explode if they fail. The only way I could do that was to only have those things work with a 50% safety margin, making the new design worse then the old design. So I suggested that instead they concentrate on dealing with potential explosions. Have safe areas, have a doctor on standby all the time, reduce reaction time of first helpers. Stuff like that."
"I could slap together some autonomous sensor relays," Anidan suggested. "Something you can place in certain sections where you think it's needed. I could make them completely self sustainable units that don't rely on ship's infrastructure to send signals or whatnot. Maybe,"
Anidan stopped talking when Seven lifted her hand. "I am certain that you would create something very suitable. However, that is something that you should not be thinking about now since it cannot be implemented anyway at this moment. I do apologize to both you and Plojkian for distracting you from what you should be focusing on now. Please, just... do what you think you need to work on now."
Anidan smiled, "Is that nesting instinct finally kicking in? The feeling where you want your home to be safe for your baby. Just that with you being Queen of Borg, your home is a wee bit bigger than the average home."
Seven frowned. "I think you might be very correct there. Even before signs of species 8472 were detected, I have felt a certain urge in the last couple of days to make sure that nothing can harm Vasha. And to then have the one thing show up that once was capable of defeating the Borg... It is unsettling."
"We are ready for this," Plojkian said confidently. "This I assure you, my Queen."
Seven dipped her head a little. "Very well. I have the utmost confidence then in the upcoming confrontation."
~~~~~~~~~~{}~~~~~~~~~~
The reign of One of Many, née Annika Hansen; Queen of Borg.
Year 00, Month 11, Day 30, Hour 08, Minute 02.
Despite the fact that the tests with cube X4 had proven that her safety was assured, Seven could feel that the Hive didn't want her to be here. They worried for her, they cared for her. It warmed Seven's heart. Who would have thought that the Hive could care? She realized at that moment that over the last months she had changed her views as well. She had never thought that it could be possible, but still. She loved B'Elanna more than life itself. B'Elanna was her Mate and other half. She loved her unborn daughter, for she was the proof of the love between B'Elanna and Seven. And, Seven realized, she loved the Collective. Just like B'Elanna and their unborn daughter, the Collective was her home.
"Who would have guessed, huh?" B'Elanna asked as she closed her arms around her lover from behind, not caring in the least that they were standing in the middle of the bridge where the entire senior staff could see them.
"We started out by trying to make lemonade out of the lemon that was handed to us, and look at us now. Here we are, not just drinking lemonade, but we're drinking that lemonade in a home that we love to be in."
Seven looked over her shoulder at B'Elanna and asked with a smile, "How did you know?"
"You mean besides me seeing that you're more at ease?" B'Elanna asked amused. "I connected to the Hive a moment ago to take a quick look at how the ship is doing, and I felt them."
"They are pleased," Seven stated.
"As they should be. They started out just wanting a Queen because the old Queens had turned things around to where the Collective needs a Queen. But the Collective got so much more with you. You gave them something they never had before; you gave them a Queen's appreciation for her people. The other Queens, they just saw the drones as tools to be used. You see them as people. You hurt for the ones that die; you feel sorrow when their voices go silent. You know that sometimes sacrifices are needed, and you don't hesitate to give the orders. But afterwards you at least mourn the losses. The other Queens never did. You have become the Collective's soul, and in the process made them realize that they were missing that soul."
Seven sighed. "We were working to get the Collective where they no longer needed a Queen, now I moved them to where they need a Queen even more than before."
"There is a difference between a Queen and a Queen," B'Elanna said as she let go of Seven and moved to stand beside her, half looking at her lover, and half looking at the view screen.
"We might have moved them to where they need a Queen to be one unit, but at the same time you and I are still moving them further and further away from where they need a Queen to think for them. We'll move the Collective to where they negotiate with the Queen on what to do because they want to, not because they have to. And, not to forget, to where they can tell a Queen to piss off if she does something like wanting total control again."
"Piss off?" Seven asked amused. She tried to picture the united voice of the Borg saying 'piss off' and much to her surprise, she could actually manage it.
"We are the Borg. We do not like what you are suggesting, so piss off?" Seven asked in a very monotone voice.
"Has a ring to it, doesn't it?" B'Elanna asked with a grin.
"I think that it is good that I am Queen and you are the Princess," Seven said amused. "I don't think that it would be too wise if the Collective picked up your way of speaking."
"Spoilsport," B'Elanna said with a fake pout.
Then she looked at the screen and sighed when she saw how close the image was by now. "But, now it's time for you to be the Queen. Give them hell baby, one way or another."
Seven looked at the view screen for a moment, looked at how the bioships continued to pound away at the Borg cubes, without much result. The Borg knew of course that the new shields would still not survive a blast of the planetbuster ships. But in order for those ships to be able to fire they had to link up with eight bioships; something the Borg were not allowing. Whenever bioships drifted into formation they would be hit with the well aimed blasts of several Borg cubes. It didn't destroy the bioships, but it did knock them off course and thus prevented them from activating the planetbuster ships, which was the important part. As such a stalemate of sorts had been reached. Fire was exchanged, yet none of the ships were destroyed.
Time, Seven decided, to end that stalemate.
"Captain?" Seven merely said, but it was enough and Wolkav gave the order.
"Helm, take us in."
The moment they entered the sensor range of species 8472 was very clear. Suddenly bioships came heading in their direction, clearly recognizing a threat when they saw one.
"Status?" Wolkav asked as soon as the first enemy fire hit Unimatrix 01.
"The shields are holding," Lachakivediras replied from his tactical station. "Power fluctuates with every hit, but the shields are at full capacity again within 0.02 seconds. I estimate that if species 8472 were to hit one and the same place of the ship for a continuous 4 minutes the shields would buckle in that place and the ship will be exposed to direct fire at that place."
"I would fire at those ships to scare them off," Wolkav said. Then he looked at Seven and added, "But, I believe we are here to prove a point."
"You are correct," Seven agreed. "Ignore the ships; pretend that we do not notice their fire and let them see how unaffected we are by it. But, have one hundred cubes fall in behind Unimatrix 01. If the shields start to buckle somewhere have a square of cubes fly beside us and cover up that spot."
Wolkav and Lachakivediras both showed their approval with a nod.
Then Seven spoke up again. "Hive, does this security measure meet your approval?"
{Yes, our Queen.}
"Very well. Wolkav, please continue."
Wolkav gave the necessary orders and not much later Unimatrix 01 had joined the other Borg ships that had been fighting with species 8472.
"I don't get it," Pagsha said thoughtfully. "By now they know that their weapons can't hurt us, yet those ships keep trickling in. If nothing else, why not simply go back into fluidic space and enter our universe at any other place?"
"We have to keep in mind that things look exactly the same from their side," Lachakivediras pointed out. "True, they can't destroy any of our ships, but at the same time none of our weapons are hurting them, not counting knocking them out of formation. Maybe they think that we never were able to reproduce more nanoprobe warheads."
That was one of the things that showed Wolkav just how much the Borg had changed. Who would ever have thought merely one year before that the Borg would hold back in using a weapon because they knew that the weapon was too deadly? "Alright, open all frequencies."
A nod of another senior staff member told Wolkav that his next words would be heard by every person in the sector that was close to any kind of receiver. "Species 8472, we are the Borg, lower your shields and surrender your ships. Cease fire or we will retaliate."
"No effect," Lachakivediras noted a moment later. It was what they all had been expecting anyway.
"Ready Unimatrix 01's main weapon's bank," Wolkav commanded. "Highest possible yield on the plasma beam. I think a demonstration is required that we can destroy their ships even if we truly didn't have any nanoprobe warheads. Also, arm one of the nanoprobe warheads; I think that we will also need to demonstrate that we still have those as well."
"Targets?" Lachakivediras asked.
"Pick one of the small bioships for both."
"Yes, captain. Plasma beam is almost fully charged, forty-one seconds left."
"Which gives me time for one last call," Wolkav noted before looking at the ops station. "Open all frequencies."
A nod told him that he could continue. "Species 8472, Cease fire or we will retaliate. This is your last chance to prevent casualties."
"The are still firing."
"Alright, plasma beam ready?"
"Yes captain."
"Then fire at will."
A second later a blindingly bright green beam shot through space and hit one of the bioships. The result was immediate. As soon as the beam hit the ship it was literally pulverized and the beam passed on into space, where it would go on for another ten light-years before the energy behind it had dispersed enough to make it just a harmless ray of light. The shot had been overkill; literally. With the plasma beam being powered by twenty-three of the biggest warp cores to be found in Borg space there had been enough power behind the shot to destroy a star, let alone a bioship. But, the shot had been all about sending a message. And now it was time to send the second message.
"Fire the warhead; let's show them that we still have them."
When the warhead hit the bioship, the vessel shook as if in pain. Which might very well have been the case since the Borg knew that the ships of species 8472 were just as alive as the individuals in those ships. Maybe not sentient, but alive never the less. Then the ship stilled and it was clear that the ship, and its pilot, were dead.
"Open frequencies. Species 8472, Cease fire or two more ships will be destroyed."
"No reply Captain."
"Two more warheads, random small bioship targets."
Moments later Wolkav was addressing their enemy once more.
"Species 8472, Cease fire or we will destroy four of your ships."
Once again there was no response and once again Wolkav was speaking up again. Not much later after four ships had been destroyed.
"Species 8472, Cease fire or we will destroy eight of your ships."
"No response captain. Captain, how often are you going to repeat that message?"
"Until I'm up to telling them that twenty ships will be destroyed. If they still won't answer at that time then I'll tell them that from then on they can contact us if they want to stop us from destroying anymore ships, and that we will continue to fire warheads, one each second. I have a feeling that they think that we only have a limited amount of nanoprobe warheads."
Eight more ships were destroyed and then, much to everyone's surprise, Species 8472 did actually stop firing.
"My Queen?" Wolkav asked since now things had changed from a battle to possible talk.
Seven nodded her head slightly and took a moment to consider her approach. Finally she requested that all frequencies were opened.
"Species 8472, this is One of Many; Queen of Borg. I mourn the losses you just suffered, however you left us no choice. We cannot condone your continued presence in this universe; you have clearly stated that you intend to destroy it."
There was no reaction, but Seven noted that still ships came through the singularity from time to time. Knowing that she could not permit a continuation of buildup of troops she had all frequencies opened once again.
"Species 8472, we cannot condone a further buildup of troops in our universe. Be advised that from now on we will destroy every ship that comes through the singularity; this will include the transport ships. Do not make us do this; for we will."
After yet again a moment of silence, Lachakivediras spoke up. "A ship is leaving one of the transporter ships. Sensors detect four life forms. Sensors also detect no weapons or shields."
Seven lifted an eyebrow at that and looked over at B'Elanna.
"Maybe they want to talk?" B'Elanna guessed.
"They are capable of receiving and understanding our broadcasts, which leads me to assume that they can also send messages. Also, they are telepaths; they could communicate with any of the telepaths to be found on Unimatrix 01," Seven reminded.
"True, but there are no telepaths to be found at the top, a.k.a., us. Maybe they have been trying to get contact with us telepathically and couldn't because they can't connect. So now they decided that they actually need to talk. After all, as the encounter with that group of them that were mimicking Starfleet showed; they know how to talk without using telepathy."
Then B'Elanna admitted, "But, I'm just guessing. There is only one way to find out. Time to try out the negotiation room I would say."
"I would say that you are correct," Seven agreed.
"Alright, beam them aboard," Wolkav ordered.
Continued...